Background
A total artificial heart (TAH) is a form of heart replacement therapy
that provides cardiocirculatory support in end-stage heart failure being
used as a bridge to heart transplantation or destination
therapy1,2. Due to limited availability of acceptable
donor hearts, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), biventricular
assist devices, and TAHs are becoming increasingly used as options for
the treatment of end-stage heart failure if conventional treatment is
failing.
Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is a condition in which the superior
vena cava (SVC) is partially blocked or compressed, leading to a
constellation of symptoms including upper extremity swelling, shortness
of breath, coughing, hoarseness, as well as more serious complications
such as cerebral edema, confusion, multi organ dysfunction, and
coma3.
SVCS is most commonly recognized in patients with
malignancies4, and has also been reported to be caused
by infections5, multiple catherization of the venous
system, pacemaker placement, and heart
transplantation3,6 -8. Management of SVCS is dependent
on the severity of disease as well as underlying etiology. Percutaneous
intervention for SVCS is a treatment modality which has provided
successful results3. Although there have been reports
of percutaneous intervention for relief of SVCS in those with heart
transplantation6,9, so far there has only been one
case being reported in the literature in regard to the treatment of SVCS
in a patient with TAH, although this was caused by external compression
of the SVC due to bleeding and tamponade10.